Refrigerating means and method



March 17, 1931.

S. C. BLOOM REFRIGERATING MEANS AN D METHOD Filed April 13, 1925v 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 A f f Samuel 6- lvvm March 17, 1931. s. c. BLOOM 1,796,859

REFRIGERATING MEANS AND METHOD Filed April 13, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 S. C. BLOOM REFRIGERATING MEANS AND METHOD March 17, 1931.

Filed April l5, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Illllllh'y Sta/luelloom Patented Mar. 17, 1931 STATES SAMUEL 0. BLOOM, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS REFBIGERATING MEANS AND METHOD .Application filed April 13, 1925. Serial No. 22,688.

My invention relates to improvements in refrigerating means and is particularly concerned with refrigerating systems of the socalled open brine type.

In systems of this type, made use of prior to my invention, the air in the cooling chamber, or room, is kept in circulation and cooled by means of sprays of brine that are usually, though not always, projected over a deck adjacent the top of the cooling chamber. The brine, after contact with the air in the cooling chamber, falls onto the deck and drains off into a brine tank from which it is withdrawn and brought into heat transferring relation` with another refrigerant and then forced back through the spray nozzles to again be sprayed over the deck in the cooling room to induce further circulation and cooling of the air in the cooling room.

In such systems the means for pumping the refrigerating fluid or refrigerant, which will hereafter be referred to as the secondary refrigerating fluid, or refrigerant, to distinguish itfrom the refrigerating iuid, or refrigerant, by which it is cooled and which will hereafter be referred to as the primary refrigerating fluid, or refrigerant, `are usualually located at some distance from the cooling room and must pump against a considerable head that is determined, in part, by the elevation of the spray nozzles over the pump.

The objects of my present invention are First, to provide a system of the character described, in which the secondary refrigerant is cooled in situ, that is, in the cooling chamber, so as to reduce as much as possible the head against which the pump handling the secondary refrigerant must operate.

Second, to provide a refrigerating method and system in which the sprays of secondary refrigerant, or refrigerating fluid, contact withthe pipes through which the primary refrigerant flows, thereby eecting not only a cooling of the secondary refrigerant but preventing the formation of frost upon the pipes ,carrying the primary refrigerant, which frost would otherwise interfere with, and reduce the eiiiciency of, the transfer ofiheat from the secondary 'refrigerant to the primary refrigerant.

Third, to provide a refrigerating method and system in which a pool of substantial mass or quantity of the cooled secondary refrigerant is maintained in the cooling chamber and not only serves to equalize, or stabilize, the temperature of the cooling room, but provides a reserve refrigerating medium that can be made use of during interruptions in the operation of the remaining portions of my improved system. This reserve refrigerating capacity is augmented by the mass of primary refrigerant in the chamber that is used for cooling the secondary refrigerant.

The pool of secondary refrigerant is so located that the circulating air passes over it and the air thus further cooled. This pool of secondary refrigerant will have a certain vapor pressure that varies inversely with the salinity of the brine, which vapor pressure is instrumental in preventing the condensation of moisture from the air, and thus tends to maintain a high degree of humidity in the cooling chamber. The presence of humidity in the air of a cooling chamber is, as is well known, beneficial in that it expedites the cooling of the products in the chamber that are to be cooled. This effect is more noticeable where the secondary refrigerant is a very weak brine operated at comparatively high temperature, or even pure water operated at temperatures above freezing.

A further object of my invention is to provide a refrigerating system and means that are highly eiiicient, accessible and comparatively cheap to operate.

The above and other objects of my invention will appear as this description progresses, reference'being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a horizontal section through a i cooling chamber embodying my invention, portions of the chamber and apparatus being broken away for the purpose of better illustration;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section taken on line 2 2 of Figure 3; l

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section taken on line 3 3 of Figure 1;and

Figure 4; is a side elevation of a conventional type of spray nozzle that may be used as a part of my improved system.

Throughout the several views similar reference characters are used for referring to similar parts and the several sections are taken looking in the direction of the small arrows. l

Referring to the drawings, I have illustrated my invention in connection with a cooling chamber comprising suitable side walls 1, 2, 3 and 4 and the roof 5, all of which are preferably provided with suitable heat insulating material such as cork, mineral wool, etc. Joists 6, extending transversely of the cooling chamber, provide means for supporting tracks 7 for supporting and carrying the products to be cooled. These joists also support tapered beams 8 for supporting the inclined deck indicated as a whole by the reference character D. This deck comprises the floor boards 9, supporting` a layer 10 of cork, or other suitable heat insulating ma.-

y terial. Planks 11 and 12, extending upwardly at the edges of the floor boards, provide acurb, the purpose of which will later be referred to. A layer 13 of waterproof material, such as felt paper impregnated with asphalt, or other water repellent, and heavily coated with a hard asphalt, covers the layer of cork i 10 and the inner faces of the curb planks 11 and 12. This deck provides means, referred to more in detail later on, for holding a pool of refrigerant or refrigerating fluid.

The edges of the deck that extend parallel with the longitudinal Walls 1 and 3 of the cooling chamber are spaced from these walls in order to provide a warm air passageway at the left hand side of the deck in Figure 3 and a cold air passageway at the right hand side of the deck, in the same gure, to permit circulation of the air 1 n `the cooling chamber for successively bringing 1t in contact with the products to be cooled and a cooling medium or refrigerant. The cooling medium extracts heat from the air that has previously absorbed heat from the products to be cooled, thus restoring the air to a temperature that makes it possible for it again to absorb heat from the products to be cooled. v l

A plurality of coils of pipe 14 are supported above the deck D upon cross beams 15 carried from the roof 5 by means of supporting rods 16. The top end of each of these coils is connected with a header 17 and the lower ends of the coils are connectedl with a header 18. Suitable pipes, not shown, connect the headers 17 and 18 with the suction and liquid sides, respectively, of a. refrigerating machine, not shown, in such manner that a refrigerant may be circulated through the coils 14. To distinguish this refrigerant from another refrigerant about to bereferred to, it will hereafter be referred to as the primary refrigerant or refrigerating fluid. This refrigerant ma be either brine, ammonia or carbon bisul d, or any other suitable refrigerant. A

For inducing a circulation of air over the deck and in the cooling chamber, and for the further purpose of cooling the air of the cooling chamber so as to enable it toabsorb heat from the products to be cooled, I provide one or more spray headers 19 that are located above the upper end of the deck D and which are provided with inwardly directed spraynozzles 20, such as that conventionally illustrated in Figure 4, for projecting a spray of secondary refrigerant inwardly over the deck D and over the cooling coils 14. In addition to the spray nozzles 20 that are secured directly to the headers 19, I prefer to mount other similar spray nozzles 2O on the upper ends of branch pipes 21 extending upwardly from the headers 19. In this manner I am able to produce a substantiallycontinuous curtain-of spray along the entire upper edge of the deck, which is instrumenta-l not only in creating` a current of air across the deck in the direction of the sprays, but also acts as a very efficient medium for cooling the air thus placed in circulation. rPhe sprays themselves have an aspiratory action upon the air above the deck D, and to further increase this action, and to prevent eddy currents along the upper edges of the curb planks 12, and to insure that all the air passing through the sprays shall pass through the cooling chamber before again passing through the sprays, I prefer to provide an inwardly extending sealing board 22, supported by the cross pieces 23 and the braces 24.

The headers 19 are connected with the discharge ports of the motor operated pump 25 by means of the pipe 26 and the T connection 27, there preferably being a valve 28 in the pipe 26. The suction port of the pump 25 is connected with the drain opening 29 at one end of the lower edge of the deck, by means of the pipes 30 and 31. A drain pipe 32, having a valve 33 therein, is connected with the pipe 30 so as to enable the operator to withdraw, from time to time, surplus secondary refrigerant from the deck that accumulates on the deck through the condensation of moisture removed from the products to be cooled.

The circulating system just described and the pump 25 provide means for producing a continuous circulation of the secondary refrigerant. Inuits course, the secondary refrigerant is, as described above, irstused for creating a circulation of air over the deck and through the cooling chamber. In withdrawing heat from the circulating air, the

Atemperature of the secondary refrigera'ting fluid is correspondingly raised and before it can again be used for withdrawing further quantities of heat from the air of the cooling chamber, its temperature must be reduced.

This is effected by having the spray from the spray nozzles 20 fall upon the cooling coils 14 in which the primary refrigerant flows. The heat is thus absorbed from the secondary refrigerant and carried off by the primary refrigerant. The cooled secondary refri gerant falls upon the deck D and forms thereon a pool of cooled secondary refrigerant of considerable mass or quantity that acts as an equalizer, or stabilizer, of the temperature of the cooling chamber and also, as explained above, forms a reserve refrigerant that may be relied upon during any interruptions, either intentional or accidental, to the circulation of the secondary refrigerant. This reserve refrigerating capacity is increased by the refrigerant in the cooling coils 14. The pool P of secondary refrigerant has a certain vapor pressure that tends to prevent the condensation of moisture from, the air in the cooling chamber, and this is particularly true if the secondary refrigerant is comparatively weak brine or pure water.

In addition to cooling the air of the cooling chamber, the spray formed by the nozzles 20 has the additional function of keeping the cooling coils 14 Wet and free from frost, and in this manner making the heat transfer between the primary and secondary refrigerants very et'cient.

My improved refrigerating system pro-v vides means for effecting a rapid circulation of air in the cooling chamber and a correspondingly rapid refrigerating rate Without the necessity of resorting to excessively low brine temperatures. This rapid circulation of air is principally produced by the sprays of secondary refrigerant. In addition, all the parts of the circulating systems for the primary and secondary refrigerants are eX- posed and readily accessible for inspection and repair. My improved system of refrigeration permits a flexibility of operation that is impossible, or very diliicult, to produce with other systems heretofore in use.

IVhile the cooling chamber and the method of cooling described herein are particularly designed for the cooling of meats and meat products, it is to be understood that they are capable of use for cooling other merchandise, and furthermore, that while I have described the details of construction of the preferred embodiment of my improved refrigerating means, my invention is not limited to these details of construction, nor to the particular method described herein, except by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. The combination with a cooling chamber, of a deck in the upper part of said chamber, said deck comprising means forretaining a pool of cooled secondary refrigerant, pipe coils above said deck for a primary refrigerant, and means for withdrawing said secondary refrigerant from said pool and spraying it into contactwith the air in said chamber to cool and circulate the air and then into contact with said coils to re-cool the secondary refrigerant.

2. The combination with a cooling chamber, of a deck in the upper part of said chamber, said deck comprising means for retaining a pool of secondary refrigerant, pipe coils above said deck for a primary refrigerant, a free and unobstructed air space above said Vpipe coils, and means for withdrawing said secondary refrigerant from said pool and spraying it into contact with the air in said chamber above the pipe coils to cool and circulate the air and then into Contact with said coils to re-cool the secondary refrigerant.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 10th day of April, 1925.

SAMUEL C. BLOOM. 

